Martin Scorsese may well be the greatest living filmmaker. If not, he at least ranks in the top tier of greatest directors of all time. Even when working with the fairly standard biopic genre material of The Aviator, or doing remakes like Cape Fear, he always creates a film that is simply fascinating to behold. When it comes to Taxi Driver, you could watch it on mute and still be intrigued, or with the sound up and your eyes closed, and the movie would remain enchanting.
Not many directors are really as capable as Scorsese when it comes to being able to drag you into a fictional world, to build a whole atmosphere around you. You feel like you're sitting shotgun in Travis Bickle's cab right beside him. It almost feels like a documentary for its sheer realism. It is as close as you can get to "found footage" without some gimmick like having one of the characters hold the camera.
The film stands as the second entry in something of a trilogy of films alongside The Searchers and Paris, Texas. All three films use essentially the same outline for their stories, and both Scorsese's film and Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas are considered loose remakes of The Searchers. The trilogy stands as a testament to how many different ways there are to tell a story, proving that old axiom that a movie isn't about what it's about, it's about how it's about it.
The Searchers was essentially an adventure film, a western revolving around unusually deep and personal themes of prejudice and lonesomeness. Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas is about lonesomeness as well as issues of family and the American Dream. Scorsese's film is the darkest of the three, revolving around the use of violence as a means to an end of loneliness. In all three, the heroes try their best to help people find their way back home, but they always stand on the outside looking in.
In each film, a real statement on loneliness is made. This is what helps the heroes of these films to be so easy to relate to, even as they do things that most of us would never be proud of having done. Even Travis Bickle, who commits so many acts of grisly violence, is such a human and endearing character in spite of his mental illness, because we know what it is to be that desperate for validation.
At one point or other, everyone has been in Travis Bickle's shoes. Most of us work it out with less extreme measures, but we've all known what it's like to be surrounded by so many people and still feel so isolated. We know exactly where Travis has been and while that doesn't forgive his crimes, we do understand him.
What few people want to discuss, because it involves delving into your own dark side, is the part of us all that roots for Travis in the end of the film. What he does cannot be morally justified, but he does find the validation he was seeking. The tragedy is that morality isn't as simple as Travis makes it out to be.
The film serves as a great companion piece to The Searchers and Paris, Texas, but it also goes hand in hand with Stallone's First Blood, which was similarly about an outsider, a Vietnam veteran, who turns to violence as a way to find personal validation.
Not many directors are really as capable as Scorsese when it comes to being able to drag you into a fictional world, to build a whole atmosphere around you. You feel like you're sitting shotgun in Travis Bickle's cab right beside him. It almost feels like a documentary for its sheer realism. It is as close as you can get to "found footage" without some gimmick like having one of the characters hold the camera.
The film stands as the second entry in something of a trilogy of films alongside The Searchers and Paris, Texas. All three films use essentially the same outline for their stories, and both Scorsese's film and Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas are considered loose remakes of The Searchers. The trilogy stands as a testament to how many different ways there are to tell a story, proving that old axiom that a movie isn't about what it's about, it's about how it's about it.
The Searchers was essentially an adventure film, a western revolving around unusually deep and personal themes of prejudice and lonesomeness. Wim Wenders' Paris, Texas is about lonesomeness as well as issues of family and the American Dream. Scorsese's film is the darkest of the three, revolving around the use of violence as a means to an end of loneliness. In all three, the heroes try their best to help people find their way back home, but they always stand on the outside looking in.
In each film, a real statement on loneliness is made. This is what helps the heroes of these films to be so easy to relate to, even as they do things that most of us would never be proud of having done. Even Travis Bickle, who commits so many acts of grisly violence, is such a human and endearing character in spite of his mental illness, because we know what it is to be that desperate for validation.
At one point or other, everyone has been in Travis Bickle's shoes. Most of us work it out with less extreme measures, but we've all known what it's like to be surrounded by so many people and still feel so isolated. We know exactly where Travis has been and while that doesn't forgive his crimes, we do understand him.
What few people want to discuss, because it involves delving into your own dark side, is the part of us all that roots for Travis in the end of the film. What he does cannot be morally justified, but he does find the validation he was seeking. The tragedy is that morality isn't as simple as Travis makes it out to be.
The film serves as a great companion piece to The Searchers and Paris, Texas, but it also goes hand in hand with Stallone's First Blood, which was similarly about an outsider, a Vietnam veteran, who turns to violence as a way to find personal validation.
About the Author:
I stood in a group of 4 pretty darn good singers, complete with catchy outfits and good looks to match. Movie Rental Website If youre wise and make the right choice you will be having fun all day long with your psp. Brought into the fold, they witness the true diversity of characters they are now brothers with.
No comments:
Post a Comment